MySpace.com to Distribute on-line Amber Alerts to its Subscribers
MySpace.com has teamed up with The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to distribute Amber Alerts to is on-line community. MySpace.com has recently come under fire for the exposure it creates to younger subscribers and predators. The on-line alerts will begin today on MySpace. MySpace still has a ways to go in protecting its on-line networking community; however, this addition of on-line Amber alerts makes sense. Teenagers and those of college age that predominately make up MySpace would be the first to know if teens had gone missing. Disseminating the information and fast internet responses may help enable police in the battle to find missing persons.
The online alerts, which will begin Tuesday, will be sent to all users in the ZIP codes where it was issued. They will appear in a small text box at the top of a user’s portfolio. The user can click on the box for more information, including a photo of the missing child and a description of the suspect. (CBS News)
MySpace also announced two safety features designed to protect members’ privacy.
The site will now require people signing up for an account to provide a working e-mail address and verify their identity by responding to an e-mail sent to the listed address. This is a practice common with other online services, but MySpace has been hesitant thus far because of fears the confirmation messages might end up mistakenly in spam filters. The site, open only to those 14 and over, will also offer a tool to prevent any member under age 18 from being contacted by adults, and vice versa. The tool, however, is optional and relies on self-reported ages. (Fox Reno)
My Space still has a ways to go in providing safety to its users as there is presently a law suit by four families against the networking internet giant. MySpace.com to Send Out Amber Alerts
MORE SAFETY FEATURES As part of its safety program, MySpace now requires all new members to register with a valid e-mail address, which they say helps law enforcement track down potential predators. New applicants will receive a verification e-mail with a link requiring them to click back and verify their identity. U.S. senators Charles Schumer and John McCain said last month they planned to introduce legislation that would require convicted sex offenders to register active e-mail addresses, expanding the existing requirements that they register personal information with local municipalities. The database of e-mail addresses would let social networking sites like MySpace bar offenders from their services by cross-checking new applicants against the database. (FOX)